Savannah Christian Raider Aj Sanders (11) closes his eyes as he tries to power his way past County Day defenders Ben Johnson (12) and Stephen Gavin (21). (Photo by Carl Elmore/For the Savannah Morning News)

At first glance, the Savannah Christian boys basketball team doesn’t look like the most intimidating group.

The Raiders’ tallest three players are just 6-foot-2, but Savannah Christian has found success this season by playing an efficient brand of team basketball.

That selfless style of play was on display Tuesday night as the Raiders rolled to a 59-43 win over host Savannah Country Day in a Region 3-A (East) contest.

The victory upped the Raiders record to 10-5 overall and 3-2 in regional play. Savannah Country Day dropped to 7-9 and 1-3 in the region.

“Everybody knows their role on this team, the players know what they can and can’t do,” SCPS coach Steve Edenfield said. “Matt (Proveaux) is our ball handler and Ben (Smith) is our shooter. We play a lot of guys and they all play hard on defense. They all work together well on offense to find open shots.”

Savannah Country Day got off to a solid start behind the play of junior guard Ben Johnson, who scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half. Gary McGinty, the Hornets slick-shooting guard, entered the game averaging 23.8 points. He didn’t have his best shooting night, but still scored a game-high 17 points, making 8 of 11 from the free throw line. Sophomore Stephen Gavin added 11 for the Hornets, who led 10-9 after one quarter.

But Savannah Christian went on a 14-5 run to close out the first half and took a 23-19 lead into intermission.

A.J. Sanders had a big first half for the Raiders, scoring eight of his 10 points.

The third quarter was pivotal for the Raiders, who got everyone into the flow of the game by moving the ball around offensively while playing solid defense and forcing turnovers.

The Raiders outscored the Hornets 23-9 in the third quarter to take control of the game.

Nine players scored for the Raiders, as they showed off their depth. Just four players scored for Savannah Country Day.

Proveaux (six points) and backcourt mate Bryce Evans attracted defenders with drives to the basket before kicking out to the open man.

Smith, the sharp-shooting senior, took advantage by knocking down two of his three 3-pointers in the second half. He scored a team-high 14 points.

“We’ve got great chemistry on this team,” said Proveaux, a senior. “We practice hard to try to perfect things. We focus on driving in and getting the ball out to Ben (Smith), and we trust him to knock down his shots. We are fighting each other in practice every day, and that has helped us improve as a team.”

The Raiders also got solid showings from junior Gage Hawkins (nine points) and freshman Aaron Osborne, who chipped in with eight.

“Osborne has a knack for getting open on offense, and Ben Smith is getting better at moving without the ball. That is helping us stretch defenses,” Edenfield said.

Freshman Chase Marini, who was the Raiders starting quarterback this season in football, earned praise from his coach for his performance, despite not scoring a point.

“When Proveaux got into some foul trouble, Chase came in there and handled the ball real well at the point,” Edenfield said. “And I thought he did a great job defensively on McGinty.”

Savannah Country Day coach Mike Harner liked the way his team came out of the blocks, but was disappointed with the Hornets’ play down the stretch.

“We turned the basketball over too much tonight,” Harner said. “And it’s hard to win games when you play selfish. In the first quarter, we moved the ball around, and it was evident in the score. But after that, especially in the third quarter, we didn’t share the ball like we should have, and we didn’t do a good enough job on the defensive end.”